Bible Reading: Jonah 1, 2, 3, 4; Revelation 10.
Memory Verse: “So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. [16] Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.” Jonah 1:15-16 (KJV).
In Daniel 3:1-30, king Nebuchadnezzar had made an image which he asked everyone to bow and worship but three Hebrews, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego did not worship the image and were thrown into a burning fire furnace for their disobedience to the earthly king but obedience to the heavenly king! Alas, they were not burnt rather, they were walking majestically inside the fire with their God! This surprised the king and made king Nebuchadnezzar to recognize their God as the only true God in earth and in heaven. He ended up making a decree to show that the only true God should be hallowed and worshipped. (Daniel 3:29). The question you could have asked is why did God allow the three Hebrew to be thrown into fiery furnace before delivering them? He knew that was the way to convince the king at that time to serve the only true God and also win other souls unto himself.
This is similar to the situation with Jonah. In this case, Jonah was disobedient to God unlike Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were completely obedient to the Almighty even unto death. But God wanted to win the souls of some Mariners to himself. They were worshipping all sorts of false gods and there was need to bring them to the true God. Jonah 1:5 (KJV) says “Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep.”
The Almighty then ensured that Jonah entered their ship before causing the wind to blow their way so fiercely. When death was steering them in the face, they called on Jonah and he told them about the true God and how he has disobeyed him. And the men sought for ways to appease the only true God and did as Jonah had told them ( Daniel 1:12). Thus in Jonah 1:15-16 (KJV), “So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. [16] Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.” The mariners came to the knowledge of God Almighty and they feared Him and made promises to Him.
What are you going through? When it becomes so fierce and there appears to be no way, examine yourself whether you are still walking with God or against Him. He may be using your circumstance to win more souls to his kingdom. On the other hand, you need to urgently repent and make a new commitment to follow Jesus for the rest of your life if you are walking against God. On the other hand, if you are walking beside God, you need to remain faithful and trust Him to the end because He will glorify His name in your life and use you as His vessel as done in the case of Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego!
Prayer point:
Father, give me the grace to walk continually with you for the rest of my life in Jesus Christ name.
Bro. Biodun Oyapero